Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000019A
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00:21 Hello, and welcome to Jesus for Asia Now.
00:24 I'm Natalie Wood 00:25 and I have my husband Jon here with me on the show today. 00:27 Hello, love. Hi darling, how are you. 00:29 I'm doing fine. 00:30 You know, here at Jesus for Asia, 00:32 we talk about how many projects we have and, 00:34 you know, a lot of ministries 00:36 just have one or two projects that they're working on... 00:38 That'd be great. 00:39 But we have so many 00:40 and so we just want to highlight one today and... 00:43 Yeah. 00:44 Well, having a lot of projects isn't necessarily better. 00:47 No. 00:48 It's just the way that Lord has let us. 00:49 Right. 00:50 And to promote and help 00:52 and to start as many projects as possible 00:55 because our overall purpose is 00:57 to see as many people in the kingdom of heaven 00:59 as possible before we die. 01:01 Right, and the Lord has the a lot of variety of ways, 01:03 He is trying to reach people. 01:04 Right, the verse that says, "Sow beside all waters, 01:08 " that's kind of our verse. 01:09 Yeah. 01:11 Well, we want to start out 01:12 thinking about true religion today. 01:14 Yes. 01:15 There is a verse in James. 01:16 One of your favorites. Yes. 01:18 Yes, James 1:27 01:21 and that is, 01:22 "Pure religion and undefiled before God 01:24 and the Father is this. 01:26 To care for the widows and the fatherless 01:28 in their affliction 01:29 and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.'' 01:31 Yeah. 01:32 So our part is to be sin free in the Lord's strength... 01:37 Yes. 01:38 But our part also is to care for the widows 01:41 and the fatherless. 01:42 And we believe that there is spiritual widows 01:45 as well as physical widows. 01:48 And the physical fatherless 01:49 as well as spiritual fatherless, 01:51 who don't know who their daddy is. 01:53 That's right, and so the project 01:55 we want to talk about today is 01:57 dealing with the physical widows. 01:58 Yes. 01:59 But it's also in hopes of sharing with them 02:02 that they are also spiritual widows 02:04 that they don't know their father. 02:05 Yes, right. 02:06 And introducing them to their husband. 02:08 That is right. Yeah. 02:10 We started out and some of our viewers may have seen 02:12 a different show about our evening schools. 02:14 Yes. 02:15 And we started with the evening schools 02:17 and then in this one place, 02:19 the first place Chembarambakkam, 02:21 we had an evening school. 02:22 And I think we have a little video from there. 02:24 It shows where I become aware 02:27 or we become aware of the need, 02:30 huge need. 02:31 For the evening schools? Exactly. 02:33 Okay, here we go. 02:34 Okay. 02:36 In 2004, I was privileged to visit a small community 02:39 in India located beside a river. 02:42 I found them sleeping on the sidewalk 02:44 after a big flood that swept away their homes. 02:46 They are requesting: 02:48 "Our children are not studying, can you do some help for them?" 02:52 Do what? To get some education. 02:54 Oh, education, yes. 02:56 Even though they had just lost everything in the flood, 02:58 their only request was for their children. 03:00 So we started some evening schools 03:02 like this one near Chennai 03:04 where children from all walks of life can come 03:06 and learn reading, writing, 03:08 arithmetic and other subjects 03:09 and receive a free meal to help them fight malnutrition 03:13 that often plagues the young people growing up here. 03:20 So that was the start of our evening school program 03:23 and we were in this place 03:25 that you see in the video for nine years. 03:29 Yeah. 03:30 Yeah, nine years straight, 03:31 and from that came this next video 03:35 where Brother Israel, 03:37 who is the director for Jesus for Asia in India. 03:40 He started to get to know 03:41 some of the mothers of these kids. 03:43 Okay, here we go. 03:45 Some ladies, you know, 03:46 they doesn't have husbands 03:48 and because they don't have livelihood, 03:50 so they were forced to get into sexual abusing or, 03:55 you know, kind of prostitution to make their livelihood. 03:58 Then I saw these ladies, 04:00 because their children are coming 04:02 for the evening school. 04:03 So I have a very close rap over them. 04:07 That is how I came to know their personal problems. 04:10 They were uneducated, without a job, 04:12 and they were forced to do a lot of bad things, 04:15 but now by God's grace 04:18 this program has brought in a great change. 04:21 The status with the widow in India is that 04:24 they will never be able to remarry. 04:25 Nobody will really want to marry 04:27 somebody that has been married before. 04:29 And many of them have no education. 04:33 No way to take care for themselves, 04:35 no way to care for their children, 04:37 and so they are kind of forced 04:38 into doing these degrading things 04:40 in order to just survive. 04:41 Right and, you know, the widow in India is 04:44 traditionally been a very hard life. 04:47 Yes. 04:48 I mean, even going back to the days of William Carey, 04:51 when he fought against sati, 04:53 which was a practice of actually putting the widow 04:55 on the funeral pyre 04:56 with the husband when he passed away. 04:59 So it's been a long time, you know, 05:02 with these widows having a hard life. 05:04 Right. 05:05 And so to do something to help them. 05:08 Yeah, so Israel came up with this idea. 05:11 Israel proposed, we started sewing school for widows. 05:14 Currently we have a two hour morning session 05:16 with six sewing machines running full time 05:19 and ladies waiting in line. 05:20 They would like to add another shift in the afternoon. 05:22 They say to me that, "Sir, you have opened the door, 05:26 like we can do, we can take care of our children now." 05:29 So they are very happy, 05:30 they are excited about this project, 05:32 they thank the Lord for that. 05:33 You can see the smile on their faces, you know, 05:35 they are very happy, they are excited. 05:38 You know, they come well dressed to the classes 05:41 and they are like going to a job, you know, 05:44 they have something to do. 05:45 They have the future now, 05:46 so they are very excited, happy. 05:49 Okay, one, two, three. 06:00 Beautiful ladies. 06:01 Yeah, it bring me so much joy to see this. 06:03 Yeah, and they are so happy. 06:04 Yeah, people don't smile in India for photos. 06:08 No, they don't. 06:09 But they were smiling and it's so wonderful to see, 06:12 just a lot of joy 06:13 and we weren't there to convert them, 06:15 we were there just to bless them 06:17 and that gave me joy 06:19 because this is what Jesus would do. 06:21 Right. 06:22 And, but still the teacher, 06:24 we get some of the stories that are coming out of there, 06:27 the teacher was Hindu, okay, 06:29 and she was loving this job because she also was a widow, 06:33 and she supported herself 06:34 and put her children to school through her tailoring. 06:38 Okay. 06:39 So she was helping other ladies do 06:40 what she had to do herself. 06:42 Exactly. 06:43 And, but she was Hindu 06:45 and but her daughter had been married for two years 06:49 and had not gotten pregnant and this is a big deal. 06:52 Yeah, it's very big deal in India. 06:53 Yeah, her husband would leave, if... 06:55 Yeah, he will go and get another wife. 06:56 Right, but so she came and ask the Christians, 07:00 "Will you pray for my daughter?" 07:03 And they said sure and they prayed for her 07:06 and within two months her daughter was pregnant. 07:09 And so she, 07:10 the Hindu sewing teacher gave glory to God 07:14 saying that your God helped my daughter get pregnant. 07:17 Hopefully, He'll become her God too. 07:19 Absolutely, He already is, she just... 07:22 Right, she doesn't realize it... 07:23 She may not realize it completely, 07:25 but what a seed has been planted... 07:27 Right, right. Yeah. 07:28 Awesome seed. 07:29 With her and with all those widows 07:30 and whoever else she got the contact with. 07:33 And then the next part of the story is very hard one. 07:37 There was terrible flooding in that location. 07:39 Yeah. 07:40 And the building began to deteriorate very rapidly. 07:43 It was an old building in the beginning. 07:45 And it had started having some cracks and things. 07:47 Yeah, some of the parts of the ceiling were falling out 07:50 and they were worried about having people there 07:54 and the ceiling falling in. 07:56 Right, so we had the widows there during the day 07:58 and we had the children there at night 08:00 and so they become more and more concerned 08:03 and you did a video about that with Israel. 08:05 Let's see that one. 08:07 If it falls on the ladies here, it'll be a big problem 08:10 and during the evening times here there are 60 students, 08:13 children, small kids seated here. 08:15 Yeah. 08:16 Imagine if it falls down 08:17 and you can see the ceiling there completely broken, 08:21 completely broken. 08:22 These places during any season, it is falling down. 08:27 That's leaking, water is coming through that. 08:28 Yes, water is leaking. 08:30 So why doesn't the landlady fix it? 08:33 It is, now she has to break it completely 08:36 and she has to fix it. 08:39 So the whole building has to be taken down. 08:41 Yes. 08:42 So that was the sad thing 08:43 and we didn't own that property 08:45 and we looked around for places to own 08:48 and we found one building 08:49 that was a lot smaller and the property, 08:52 it was just right around the building like 08:54 one foot on either side and it was $50,000. 08:57 Yeah, and it wasn't big enough for the 60 children 09:00 that go there every evening. 09:01 Exactly. 09:02 So unfortunately, we had to close that location. 09:05 Yeah. 09:06 So we were very sad 09:07 and we've been praying that the Lord would enable us 09:09 to buy something in that village. 09:11 Unfortunately we haven't found anything yet 09:14 or have the funds either to purchase 09:16 but the Lord has opened another place. 09:19 Yes. 09:20 And so the old place Chembarambakkam, 09:23 we don't have anything there right now, 09:24 we are still praying, 09:26 but the Lord has opened another place, 09:28 He shared with us another place and this is a neat story, 09:30 I want you to share. 09:31 Yeah, Israel had shared with me earlier, 09:34 several months before 09:35 that there was a request for a new school being open, 09:38 a widow school and this was special 09:41 because it had been opened, started many years ago 09:44 by our dear Dorothy Watts, 09:46 who was the wife of the president 09:48 of the Southern Asian division Pastor Ron Watts, 09:50 who was such a great guy, such a wonderful couple, 09:54 gave many years of their lives to service in India. 09:58 But she unfortunately had to go home 10:01 and she passed away. 10:03 And so the school fell into kind of disrepair and... 10:07 People forgot about it, it seems like people forgot... 10:10 Yeah. 10:11 And she wasn't there to remind people. 10:12 The funding dried up and so when we heard about it, 10:16 we were in the position to start it and open it. 10:19 But then just recently I went over there on a tour 10:24 and I just had this impression from the Lord I believe saying, 10:28 it's time to open a school, time to open a widow school 10:32 because the truth is that maybe even 10:34 if we don't have the funds, 10:37 we have to do something, 10:39 we have to do something for God. 10:40 We have to obey the word of God, 10:42 even if we don't clearly see the road ahead of us. 10:44 We've to just take a step in that direction. 10:48 And so I told Israel, yeah, let's open that widow school. 10:52 So go ahead and call the section president 10:54 and let him know that we want to open the school. 10:57 So you have some video from there. 10:59 Yes. Okay, good. 11:01 So what's the first one? 11:02 The first video we have is the first night 11:05 we went there just getting to know 11:06 the people seeing the building, 11:09 seeing the situation and stuff like that. 11:11 So I put together a little video 11:13 'cause I fell in love with these people 11:15 there a gypsy colony, okay. 11:17 So they're very boisterous... 11:20 Flamboyant. Flamboyant, yes. 11:22 We'll see them dancing. Yes. 11:24 And they make jewelry for a living... 11:26 Yeah. And things like that. 11:27 And they used to do all kinds of stuff. 11:29 So this video is just kind of a like a collage 11:32 of different shots 11:33 that I got the first evening that I was there. 11:36 The next day, we did the grand opening 11:38 of the widow school and we'll show that later. 11:41 But right now, I just want you to meet these people. 11:43 So this is the introduction? 11:44 Yes. Okay. 14:47 "I'm a disco dancer." 15:07 Joyful, happy people. 15:08 Yeah. 15:10 They are a lot of fun. 15:11 Beautiful children. Yeah. 15:13 Sweet smiles. 15:14 Yeah, the least of these my brethren. 15:17 That's for sure. 15:18 Very poor, 15:20 they're not worth much in the world's eyes. 15:22 Yeah. 15:23 Making little beads for living. Yeah. 15:25 Going out and catching rabbits... 15:26 Chewing the beetle nuts. 15:27 Yeah, all that stuff but in God's eyes, 15:29 in heaven's eyes, precious. 15:31 That's right. 15:33 That was neat to see them 15:34 moving the sewing machines in there. 15:35 Yeah. 15:36 And to think that that's gonna be reopened. 15:38 Yes. 15:39 Okay, so that's not just a widow school. 15:41 No. We saw the children there. 15:42 Oh, my goodness. 15:43 And they're gonna do a feeding program, 15:46 they're gonna do the evening school for the children also. 15:48 Yes, yes. 15:49 Okay, so that building will be used for the widow school 15:51 and the evening school. 15:52 Well, you notice in that overview that 15:54 there was a church and the school 15:56 right next to each other. 15:57 So in the church, 15:58 they're gonna have the evening school 16:00 every evening... 16:01 And then of course, 16:02 the widow school during the day. 16:04 They don't have the evening school 16:05 and the widow school 16:07 because of all the fancy equipment. 16:08 Machines, they have to move the machines all the time. 16:10 Right. 16:11 Well, at least they have a church there 16:13 and they can have it both on the same property. 16:15 Yes. Yes. 16:16 It's ideal situation. 16:18 So we have another video, what's this one? 16:20 Okay, this is kind of self explanatory 16:24 but when you are traveling through India, sometimes, 16:28 you're not feeling so good. 16:29 Getting little bit sick. 16:30 Yeah, I am. 16:32 What's funny is that 16:34 we had been eating at regular restaurants 16:36 and regular places 16:38 and in people's homes throughout the whole trip 16:40 and I had no problem. 16:41 So we came to this town and the president says, 16:44 well, I need to take you to a nice place 16:46 because you are an American. 16:47 Oh. 16:48 He told me once that an American had come 16:50 and he put him in a normal place 16:52 and he'd got yelled out. 16:54 You know, that American was upset with him 16:56 for putting him in, you know, 16:58 anyway so he was very careful. 17:00 So we ate at a really nice restaurant 17:02 and I got sick. 17:03 You got sick, okay. 17:06 In that nice restaurant. 17:07 So this is talking about that, 17:08 but then we meet some of the people there 17:10 that are gonna be going to the school as well. 17:12 And you get to do some coconut water. 17:15 We got coconut water. 17:17 Okay, here we go. 17:24 All right, so this is some of the joys 17:27 of traveling in India. 17:29 This morning I woke up with a little 17:32 rumbling in the stomach, 17:33 and I spend some time 17:35 in the smaller part of our hotel, 17:40 the smaller room. 17:42 And so I'm a little bit uncomfortable this morning. 17:45 Skipped supper last night 17:46 and had about little couple of bites of idly 17:49 and I'm just not that excited. 17:51 So they're making some coconut drinks for us, 17:54 which normally I'd be all over that. 17:56 But right now, I'm kind of, well, 17:58 I'm kind of all over that. 17:59 My mind goes out to our 18:02 brothers and sisters in countries 18:03 where they're actually feeling real discomfort 18:05 like in China where they are getting persecuted, 18:08 in other countries in the Middle East 18:10 where they're actually getting persecuted, 18:12 killed, beaten, all this kind of stuff. 18:15 I'm suffering nothing. 18:16 Hello, hello, hello, hello. 18:22 What is your name? 18:24 What is your name? My name is Shyam. 18:25 Right, Shambu. 18:26 Glad to meet you. Shyam. 18:27 Oh, Sam. 18:29 Yeah, this is a fresh young coconut and there is... 18:33 Yeah, tender coconut, it's got water inside. 18:35 It's filled with water as you can see, 18:37 I don't know if you can see that. 18:38 I'm gonna drink some of this and see how it goes. 18:54 I do not have a problem with fresh, young, coconut. 18:56 Yeah. 18:57 What is your name? 19:01 Shailaja. 19:02 Shailaja, very glad to meet you. 19:04 What is your name? 19:06 My name is Vignesh. Uh. 19:07 My name is Vignesh. 19:09 What? Vignesh. 19:11 Uh? 19:13 What's his name? 19:15 Vignesh, okay, glad to meet you. 19:17 You are Vignesh too? 19:19 Brothers? 19:21 Okay, all right. 19:22 Lalu, Lalu. 19:26 Jagan, okay. 19:28 That's your son? 19:30 Your boy? 19:31 Okay, what is your name? 19:32 Kushboo. 19:34 Kushboo, Kushboo. 19:35 Kushboo, glad to meet you, Kushboo. 19:38 What's your baby's name? 19:39 Balu. Balu, hello. 19:43 This is the traditional dress that they wear, 19:45 the traditional clothes that they wear. 19:47 He hunts foxes. 19:50 This community is kind of tradition, 19:52 hunts foxes and whatever else, 19:55 flying foxes as well as walking foxes. 19:59 He got his gun here, it's like a muzzle loader. 20:02 He got his bag here, got his pot, 20:04 good to go. 20:05 So Bhaskar has a boy and a girl 20:07 that are gonna come to this evening school 20:09 and learn about Jesus and a new way of life 20:12 and eternal life. 20:14 I think he is cooler then I am. 20:17 This is too hot. 20:19 Is this your daughter? 20:20 Daughter? Daughter, daughter. 20:22 Oh, yeah, this is her daughter. 20:24 Her daughter is suffering from polio. 20:26 Her previous case of polio, so she doesn't walk properly. 20:30 So pray for this family. 20:31 Bhaskar and his family as they start the school, 20:35 the widow school, the sewing school, 20:38 as well as the evening schools with the meals. 20:41 Wow, that's neat, they're beautiful people. 20:43 Yeah, and it was so hot there, 20:46 just functioning took everything I had 20:48 but, you know... 20:49 Especially when you are not feeling well. 20:50 Oh, yeah. 20:51 But just meeting with those people 20:53 and hanging out with them, 20:55 spending time and getting to know who they are, 20:57 trying to understand their names was a lot of fun... 20:59 Yeah. 21:00 I miss being there. 21:02 Yeah, beautiful people, beautiful children. 21:04 Yeah. 21:05 And so neat, 21:06 when we get to be a blessing to them. 21:07 Yeah, just to be able to help... 21:09 Yeah, and to think about there, 21:11 they're gonna be learning more about Jesus 21:15 because we found out about the opportunity 21:18 and we were able to say yes. 21:19 Yeah, that's right. It's awesome. 21:22 Okay, the next part of the story, 21:24 it kind of goes back to the beginning of the story. 21:25 Yeah. 21:26 And that is when the headman found out. 21:30 It's so cool how God brings people together 21:34 and not just one person gets to have all the joys 21:38 but that he is able spread it out. 21:41 So it's like, I get to go and meet the people 21:43 but then I can bring their story back 21:46 and then other people can partner 21:48 and be a part of their lives. 21:50 Right. 21:51 And receive some of that joy of seeing 21:53 others blessed which is... 21:57 That's where the joy is. 21:58 I was reading today that 22:02 being able to give the light that 22:04 we have received from the Father is the highest honor 22:07 and the greatest joy 22:09 that is possible for God to bestow. 22:11 That's pretty strong. 22:14 So of all the joys in the universe 22:16 sharing the light that we've been given, 22:18 the blessings we've been giving with others... 22:20 Sharing Jesus. 22:21 Is the highest, 22:23 is the best pleasure that he could find anywhere. 22:26 And it's the highest honor. Yeah. 22:28 So it's pretty important work that He has given us. 22:32 Yeah, and that's why I love it so much 22:33 'cause we get to do that, but it's not just us doing it, 22:36 so it's nothing about us. 22:37 Right. 22:38 You know, we share with the people that we know 22:41 and with our viewing audience 22:43 and we all get to be a part of this. 22:45 So it's a win-win. Yeah. 22:47 Blessings all around. 22:48 Yeah, plenty of blessings. 22:50 God has lots. 22:51 It's a fistful of blessings. 22:52 That's right. 22:54 Okay, well, we want to step back a minute 22:56 to before you told Israel, 22:58 to go ahead and call the section office 23:00 and tell them that we would start the widow school. 23:02 There is a story before that. Okay. 23:04 This is what's really cool because remember I said, 23:07 told Israel to go ahead and call the president 23:09 to say that we wanted to open it. 23:11 He called on a Thursday afternoon to the president. 23:14 When we got there, 23:16 we found out that there was a story behind that, 23:17 that the headman had gotten with his wife 23:21 in a auto rickshaw, in a bus, 23:24 whatever it took to get 23:25 to the president's headquarters. 23:28 Two hours travel. 23:29 Yeah, he had basically fallen on his knees and begged him, 23:32 please open the school for my village. 23:36 Because he had seen how it had blessed the village 23:39 before and now had closed and it wasn't doing anything. 23:43 And so he is begging him. 23:45 That was Thursday morning and Israel called 23:49 and talked to him Thursday afternoon, 23:51 because the president told the headman, 23:53 he says, there's nothing I can do, 23:55 I don't have the money. 23:56 Yeah, just go back and pray. 23:58 Yeah, go pray. 23:59 So the headman went back and prayed 24:02 and that afternoon, 24:03 he was able to call and say, we are gonna open it. 24:07 So this is kind of his reaction. 24:08 Okay. 24:25 So you can see the emotion that he experienced 24:27 while he is thinking about and hearing them tell the story 24:30 of how God moved in the timing, 24:33 you know, he comes and begs Thursday morning, 24:36 prays, Thursday afternoon they get the word that, 24:39 that's gonna be open and the following Tuesday 24:41 we were there in this opening ceremony. 24:44 Okay, here we go. 25:01 I planned to be there in your village. 25:31 So to the glory of God, we pronounce this open. 25:59 Okay, we've just opened the widow school 26:01 and the sewing school here in this village, 26:04 and you can see that 26:06 these ladies are just going to town, 26:07 it's like pent-up desire and energy 26:10 to learn sewing to better their lives, 26:13 have an income provide for their families, their kids. 26:15 So I'm so excited, 26:17 just gives me a lot of joy 26:18 to see these people doing this work. 27:16 What a blessing? 27:17 Yeah, it brings a lot of joy 27:18 back to me just seeing that again. 27:20 Yeah, to see the joy. Yeah. 27:22 And to know it's going to make a difference. 27:24 Yeah. 27:25 And the children will be having regular meal every day, 27:28 they'll be having a meal there. 27:30 Yeah. 27:31 And the ladies will be learning sewing, 27:32 so what a blessing. 27:34 Yeah, and that village will be blessed. 27:35 Yes. 27:37 I would like to invite our viewers to be a part of this 27:40 by praying for these schools 27:41 and for the ones that had to close 27:44 that we could open them again 27:46 and that the blessing will continue. 27:48 If you are impressed to be a part of this financially, 27:51 you can send your tax deductible love gift 27:54 to Jesus for Asia, PO Box 1221, 27:57 Collegedale, Tennessee 37315. 28:01 Call us at 423-413-7321. 28:05 Or check out our website at Jesus4aisa.org. 28:09 May God richly bless you 28:11 until we see you again on Jesus for Asia Now. |
Revised 2016-12-20